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Denmark veil ban: First woman charged for wearing niqab

Law enforcement officers arrived on call at a shopping centre North of Copenhagen, where there was a fight between two women.

The episode took place in the center of Hørsholm center where the woman with niqab came up to top with another woman by an escalator in the center.

Clicked by Reuters photographer Andrew Kelly, the photo features a Danish policewoman embracing a visibly emotional woman protesting against the ban.

Police took a photograph of the woman wearing the niqab, and obtained security camera footage from the shopping centre of the incident.

As of August 1, wearing full-body burqas and the niqab, a veil worn by some Muslim woman that only shows the eyes, in public carries a fine in Denmark.

Danish protesters dressed in burkas, masks and false beards to defy a new law outlawing the wearing of veils in public.

First-time offenders risk a fine of 1,000 kroner while repeat offences could trigger fines of up to 10,000 kroner (£1,200) or a jail sentence of up to six months.

Hundreds have taken to the streets of Copenhagen to protest a ban on wearing face-covering garments in public. France became the first European country to ban the full-face veil from public spaces in 2011, with fines of up to €150 (Dhs640) for those caught wearing the garment.

Rights group Amnesty International condemned the ban as a discriminatory violation of women's rights that would have a particularly negative effect on Muslim women.

They said both women were charged with violating the peace and said one had also been charged with violating the full-face veil law.

Some Muslim women have said that they will refuse to comply with the ban and intend to continue to wear a niqab.